Archdiocese of Vancouver and Kamloops First Nation release Sacred Covenant on Indigenous Peoples Day – The Catholic Register

June 24, 2024

The Sacred Covenant signed on Easter Sunday by the Archdiocese of Vancouver and Kamloops First Nation was made public on Friday, National Indigenous Peoples Day.

In a statement, the Archdiocese and the Tk’emlups te Secwepemc said the date was chosen to share the document in English and Chinook, “an important common language among First Peoples and settlers arriving from many countries.”

Chinook was a trade language promoted by Father Jean-Marie Raphael Le Jeune, OMI, and Tk’emlups and other elders, according to the statement.

Father Le Jeune was an Oblate missionary priest who supported BC First Nations in the 19th century and is referenced in the covenant. Kamloops Chief Rosanne Casimir said the nation had the goal of “fostering healing and reconciliation and countering targeted skepticism and denial” when it chose to work with Catholics and allow Church leaders to publicly acknowledge past wrongs, especially those from the Catholic Church’s role in administering many of the residential schools. She said the Tk’emlups te Secwepemc remain “steadfast in their sacred duty as guardians to and advocates for the children who died and were harmed while they were students at the Kamloops Indian Residential School.”

Read More: https://www.catholicregister.org/item/36895-archdiocese-of-vancouver-and-kamloops-first-nation-release-sacred-covenant-on-indigenous-peoples-day